Chapter 282: Scorpion’s fight.
The team crouched low behind the cover of rocks and roots as the battle unfolded.
The snake emerged with an earth-shaking roar, a real abomination of nature. Its body spanned nearly fifteen meters, covered in glistening metallic scales that reflected the dim light. When it opened its mouth, layers of translucent fangs dripped with venom that hissed when it hit the snow.
The marauders attacked with frightening speed, like they had been training for a while, preparing for the battle.
"That one is a superhuman as well." Sunshine, said as she chewed on pumpkin seeds as if she was at a movie or standing outside her door, watching the couple next door yelling and fighting after one was caught in an affair.
Snacking on coconut bean seeds, Nimo nodded. "He is too fast to be ordinary. It looks like super speed or something."
Elio gazed curiously at the women, wondering how much confidence they had on their small shoulders to be snacking in the middle of all this. "They have been out here for a month. Unlike us, they have encountered the mist more often, so it is not surprising that some of them awakened. We should have taken Warren’s advice on those bombs and taken them out somehow."
His finger brushed against the trigger of his gun. A part of him wanted to discard Sunshine’s advice and put a bullet through Scorpion’s head directly. Then, they could engage the snake. Between the two dangers, he was confident that Scorpion was worse.
The fight continued, some marauders launched grappling hooks into trees and swung down, slashing at the creature’s flanks. Others hurled mild explosives. The air filled with gun fire, smoke, and the cries of those dying. The smell of blood increased with every second that passed. White snow continued to bury frozen fresh blood.
Although it was weak with multiple wounds, the snake was giving the marauders hell. It lashed out, impaling one with its tail and driving it up. His upper body split into two as he fell.
Father Nicodemus winced. He wondered what was stronger between the tail of the snake and his wings.
Another marauder was swatted aside, crushing into a tree so hard his armor shattered. His stomach was crushed in abnormally.
A third screamed when the snake’s tail sliced him in half.
Philip patted his chest and sighed in relief. He was glad that they had not been the first in the battle or else, they would have a numerous number of casualties. But, if the iron shirts worked, maybe it would just be broken bones.
The forest became chaos but still the marauders fought like demons. One leaped onto the snake’s head, driving a dagger into its eye. The creature screamed, a sound that vibrated through the air.
However, the snake retaliated faster than anyone expected. It coiled, then flung the marauder across the clearing, his body span helplessly before crashing into the lake nearby.
The moment he hit the surface; the water stirred like sharks were waiting below.
Sunshine’s eyes narrowed. "What the hell!?"
"I saw that." Elio hissed.
Tiny movements shimmered beneath the surface_ A strange, undulating texture spreading outward. Then she saw them.
"Holy mother of God!" Father Nicodemus made the sign of the cross.
Thousands of tiny fish. Pale, glass like, their bodies transparent with faint red veins glowing inside, they slithered up the marauder’s limbs. He screamed, thrashing wildly as the creatures tore into him, swarming like a living tide. His body vanished beneath the water, the ripples settled into silence except for faint bubbles that looked like blood.
"What in the world....."Sunshine whispered, her voice trembling for the first time. "System what the hell was that?"
[Host, the ice in this area was melted by the mist creating the water bodies, the water looks fresh but full of toxins that would kill a human within a second after ingestion. The fish are mutant, a product of the mist. These particular ones are called Shardlings. They have ruined many water vessels that have been fixed by repairmen.]
"All I hear is that I have another problem to deal with. System find permanent solutions for this problem. If that lake expands, we will all be fish food before we know it"
[Yes host.]
"Mutant or mutated fish?" Nimo asked.
Everyone’s ears stretched.
"Mutant, called Shardlings." Sunshine replied, her attention moved to the watchers that had arrived. They were settling on tree branches and others circling the air while making twittering noises. It was obvious that they were happy about what was happening regarding the fight.
"Pink is not too happy about the mutant...err..shardlings being discovered." Elio shared. His eyes were on the birds. "I guess it was meant to be a surprise for us."
Sunshine scoffed. "Damn instigators." Her eyes traced Scorpion, he seemed to be on the move finally.
Scorpion had been meticulous and calculating how to attack the snake, he moved stealthily, crawling through the snow. He stretched his hands, grabbing onto the snake’s tail. His body arched unnaturally as his nails dug into the creature’s scales.
The snake shrieked, not from rage but from terror and started to thrash like it was in untold pain.
Scorpion let out a triumphant laugh, beneath his skin, veins pulsed like living cables glowing red and then black, like embers struggling to breathe.
"What is he doing?" One ignorant soldier asked.
Sunshine looked at him. "Absorbing the energy from the creature."
Gasps erupted.
"Now, this is the best time to finish off Scorpion." Morris suggested. "Both of them actually. We should do it before Scorpion fills up his energy tank."
"Not yet." Sunshine said firmly.
The cries of the serpent drew the attention of everything in the forest. It rolled and tried to shake Scorpion off, crushing trees and sending snow flying in the whirlwinds. But Scorpion clung on, his eyes rolled back until the whites showed. The snakes’ scales began to fall; their sheen faded like as if the life in them had been drained away. Steam rose from its wounds as it’s roars grew weaker.
In the last moments, Scorpion exhaled_ the creature stiffened, it’s thousands of legs freezing mid-motion before collapsing like a mountain giving way. It hit the ground with a thunderous crash, sending shock waves through the forest.
Then silence.
Even the watchers flew away. To them the battle had ended but to Sunshine and her team, it had just started. They stared at Scorpion who was kneeling on the dead beast’s back, his chest rising and falling heavily.
"We need a good plan to fight that man, one touch and we are all dead." One soldier said, awe and fear written across his face.
"He just....killed it on his own. How strong is he?" another murmured.
Sunshine exhaled loudly, "You can stay in hiding if you want but I am killing that man today.....plus her." Her nose pointed towards Fifi who was crouching next to the superhuman.
Scorpion stood slowly, rolling his shoulders. Fifi cheered strongly. She did not care about her dead colleagues, only that she had survived. Of all the marauders, they were the only ones left alive.
Sunshine stood, eyes on scorpion, her breath frosted the air as she summoned a dozen ice blades, sharp on all edges. In one swift motion, she hurled them at Scorpion’s back.
At the same time, Elio fired a bullet from his gun.